The switch to bioreactors

Agar-based versus TIS

Plant tissue culture methods have been used for more than 30 years to clone and propagate a large variety of plants. The conventional method, using semisolid (agar) medium, has been widely used due to its simplicity and low costs. However, the huge amount of labour is a major disadvantage. New technologies have been developed to reduce the handling time, while increasing the multiplication rates and plant quality. As a result, the Temporary Immersion System (TIS), also called Temporary Immersion Bioreactor (TIB), was created in the 80’s.

The principle of TIS technology is that plant material is immersed in growth media for short periods, and at regular intervals. These immersions are sufficient for the plants to take up the nutrients. TIS technology makes use of the advantages of liquid cultures, while growing the plant material under high gas-exchange environments.

Based on all requirements to perform TIS micropropagation at large scale, was then SETIS™ generated. The ultimate TIS bioreactor for plant micropropagation.